Crossing the continent with camels

摘要

I'd tethered the camels to acacia shrubs, strung up a tarp for shelter and covered the saddles and pack bags as best I could. I'd even placed my books and rolled swag, which functioned as a make-do couch, under the shelter as if I was preparing to watch the storm from the comfort of a sitting room in the middle of the desert, about 380km west of Coober Pedy, South Australia. Energised by the unexpected change in weather I was buzzing around taking photos of this unlikely scene.My camels — Jude, Delilah, Charlie, Clayton and Mac — and I had left the Shark Bay coast in Western Australia more than five months before and had up to that point only experienced a couple of light showers. The landscape and vegetation we'd traversedin that time had been varied and beautiful but always dry.